Burglary, Theft Suspects Arrested in Barnegat

Feb 13, 2014

A woman was recently charged in connection with three burglaries that occurred last year in the Heritage Point North community in Barnegat Township.

Lt. Keith Germain said officers had responded to reports of burglaries on Aug. 15, Aug. 21 and Dec. 3. Two of the homes had their locked front doors forced open; another was burglarized through a partially open garage door.

Germain said all the incident ocurred in the daytime, and the missing items consisted primarily of jewelry and watches. None of the items were recovered.

The lieutenant said that on Jan. 22, Detective William Hetrick arrested Grace Ross, 36, of Bridgewater, and charged her with the burglaries. Leads were developed through eyewitness reports and surveillance footage from residential security systems.

Charges against Ross include three counts of burglary, three counts of theft and two counts of criminal mischief. She was lodged in the Ocean County Jail on $45,000 bail.

Also on Jan. 22, Detective Maryann Cirulli arrested Christopher Ryan, 40, of Barnegat, in connection with a June 13 theft last year. Officers had responded to a reported theft of approximately $1,800 from a TD Bank account. It was determined there were six unauthorized withdrawals from the account made in Barnegat, Stafford and Little Egg Harbor townships.

The suspect was identified through surveillance footage. Ryan was charged with theft and faces a hearing in municipal court. —E.E.